Abstract
While there is a growing body of literature on relational pedagogy as a
concept, less attention is given to the details of just how relational
pedagogy manifests in classroom practice. Similarly, while issues of
power, democracy and co-constructed learning feature in contemporary
research, the details of how power relationships can be effectively altered
between teachers and children warrants closer scrutiny. This paper
explores how pedagogy is enhanced when spaces are negotiated between
teachers and children in the real and fictional worlds of drama. The
findings emerge from a two year collaborative research project between
generalist elementary teachers and university researchers. Salient issues of
trust, power sharing, and metaxis, which are part of relational pedagogy in
the drama classroom, are explored. In particular, the paper discusses how
traditional power and knowledge positions are 'disrupted' through the
drama strategy of 'teacher-in-role' - a strategy with both political
significance and pedagogical force.